On his way to winning the season-four Bellator featherweight tournament, Pat Curran outpointed Ronnie Mann to hand him just his third professional loss in 24 fights.

Now on the eve of a qualifier fight for the promotion’s next eight-man featherweight competition, Mann (20-3-1 MMA, 2-1 BFC) is determined not to make the mistake he did against Curran when he fights Kenny Foster (9-3 MMA, 2-1 BFC) at Bellator 53.

“This time, I’m not going to give much respect,” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I’m not going to let him off the chain.”

Bellator 53 takes place Saturday at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla. Main-card action airs live on MTV2 (and in high-definition on EPIX), and preliminary-card fights stream live on Spike.com.

Maybe it’s his soft-spoken voice or British accent, but Mann strikes you as an incredibly polite guy. He seems even more the opposite of the stereotypical fighter. Even in the cage, most of his wins come by submission rather than knockout, though his crisp standup is evident from the moment his fights begin.

Mann, though, is not immune to lapses in confidence. He was a little too worried about Curran’s punching power when they met three months prior at Bellator 47, and that proved to be his downfall.

“I was concerned with letting him in because I know he’s decent at what he does, so that’s why I didn’t open up myself,” he said.

So he’s got to get meaner next time around, and Foster is his trial run.

“Hopefully, it won’t happen again,” Mann said.

To channel his inner Wanderlei Silva, Mann needs to forget for a moment a terrible loss in his life. The British import suffered a huge blow when his longtime trainer, Shawn Tompkins, passed away two months ago, and he’s struggled to put it behind him.

“I still haven’t gotten over it now, to be honest,” Mann said. “It was a big shock. When I first heard it, I thought it was some sick joke. It hit me real bad.”

If Tompkins is watching over him, though, there’s no greater honor he could do for “Coach” than win decisively. He’s got to stay sharp for Bellator’s next featherweight tournament, and a loss would be devastating to the momentum he’s built over the years.

There may have been a setback to his goal of winning another major title, but Mann feels confident that he can rebound.

“My main thing is to just get that one over and done with and get on to the next one,” he said.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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